Investing in human capability

21 Jun 20122012-06-21T02:00:00+02:00

Following an open competition, we have been selected to lead the management of the UK Ministry of Defence’s Defence Human Capability Science & Technology Centre.

BAE Systems, Yeovil, has been awarded the prime contract by the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and will manage a four-year, multi-million pound programme of research supporting priority Human Capability requirements from across the MOD.

Alun Fishburne, Managing Director of BAE Systems, Defence Information says: “BAE Systems is proud to be partnering with Dstl to recognise Human Capability as a priority area for Defence Research. BAE Systems has a long history of working with a broad range of suppliers to deliver world class, high impact research in this domain.”

The centre will deliver research across a broad range of themes including human factors integration, personnel, influence and stabilisation, health and well-being and training. Research examples relate to enhancing physical and cognitive performance, reducing soldier burden whilst maximising safety, utilising recent developments in simulated environments for training and exploiting human behaviours in conflict resolution.

We will be responsible for managing the programme and working with a broad range of suppliers from industry, academia and small and medium-sized enterprises to create a virtual human capabilities “Centre of Excellence.”

The centre will allow the integration of human sciences research across MOD, providing access to leading researchers and subject matter experts, promoting innovation in the supply chain and actively seeking opportunities for collaboration and partners across government, with research councils, industry, charities and international partners able to maximise investments and improve use of scarce resources. It is envisaged that a significant proportion of the research programme will be delivered by SMEs and the Dstl Programme Office is urging SMEs, to bring their ideas to the table.

Fiona Cotter, Dstl’s lead for Human Capability research, added: “There is a vast wealth of knowledge and expertise in human sciences across the UK’s vibrant small and medium-sized enterprise community. Through the defence human capability science and technology centre, we hope that they will become involved directly as researchers and knowledge providers.”